


The Queen's Ascension

by Felbarashla



Series: Jupiter Makes a Mess of Things [2]
Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: F/M, I have no idea what I'm doing, first multi-chapter fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-14 12:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20600945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felbarashla/pseuds/Felbarashla
Summary: Queen Jupiter Jones wanted to pretend that everything was fine and go back to living with her family and hanging out with her new wolfy boyfriend.  But after she and Stinger have a discussion about the real state of things, Jupiter knows she needs to step up and do her job.This takes place after "Something Needs to Give".





	1. Making a Plan

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I don't know how many people will actually want to read this but I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm not sure how long it will be between updates, or how many total chapters there will be. I was originally planning on four, but it seems to be a bit longer now that I'm actually writing it out. I guess we'll find out together.

Jupiter looked at her phone to check the time and was surprised to find it was almost two in the morning. After her quasi-lecture from Stinger and her pity party in the barn, she had come inside and decided to get a scroll and start writing down her thoughts and what she needed to get done. She needed to find a starting place and have somewhere to go from here or the whole idea of accepting her status as an Entitled would be too much for her to deal with. There were things she could get done to at least make a start to things, but everything was going to take time that she didn’t have unless she could either distract her family or come up with a plausible reason for her to be gone so much. She was definitely not ready to tell her mother that she was a space queen that had more money than she could conceive of and in fact, that she was the owner of the planet they were living on according to galactic law.

She and Caine were supposed to go back home tomorrow when she would have to deal with her mother’s wrath for skipping out last night and the last thing she needed was for her mother to think she was crazy or try to confine her to the house. And she did not want her family to think Caine was brainwashing her or something; that would just create more issues. Jupiter had decided she was going to talk to Stinger in the morning and see about telling her family that she was going to spend a few weeks taking care of an old friend of Caine’s who had PTSD and needed help taking care of things around the house. Caine would be there doing repairs and she would be scrubbing and cooking for them and that would be her excuse for being gone tonight. They had to see the place and talk it over before she brought it up with her family to make sure it was a done deal. It would give her a little bit of time at least, so she could make the trip to Ouros and get the ball rolling on everything else.

Where was Caine though? He was working on his gear and she figured Stinger and Caine had their own ‘discussion’ about his methods after she got upset but he should have come to bed hours ago. Maybe he took some time walking the property to guard against more assassins but he should still have checked in at some point, and the fact that she hadn’t heard from either of them worried her. Especially after what Stinger said earlier. There was a lot she hadn’t known was happening and now that she was more aware of the situation she couldn’t help but think something could have happened.

Jupiter set down the borrowed scroll and stuck her phone in her pocket, determined to figure out where everyone was. Now her anxiety was ramping up so she decided being quiet might be a good idea, but decided to keep her shoes on in case something was actually wrong and she needed to make a run for it. After they had all returned to Earth there had been a discussion of where she should go if there was another attack on the farmhouse, so she had that to fall back on, but hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. The light was off in the hallway but she left it that way and toed her way to the first stair. Unfortunately, while she managed to get onto the stairs quietly, she had forgotten how decrepit the house actually was and that the stairs halfway down all creaked when there was enough weight on them. She froze, but didn’t hear anything. While she scanned around, she saw the living room light was on and decided that one or both of them was in there, so she took the rest of the steps quietly but at a normal pace. From the doorway she saw Caine looking over his mauler and stopped. “Hey, I haven’t seen you for a while. Are you still repairing your gear?” 

Caine looked up, but instead of answering, another figure swung around and stopped in the doorway, back-lit by the lamp. Jupiter shifted her feet, still riding high on her anxiety until she heard “Why don’t you come in Your Majesty? We were just talking about you.” Stinger moved out of the doorway and swung back into the room, so she moved into the light and sat on the sofa. From here she could see Stinger was leaning against the wall so she leaned forward and clasped her hands together, settling in for another ‘talk’. _ Why are they so far away from each other? It’s like they want to talk but want to strangle each other too. Great. _ She looked at Caine, but he was back to looking over the gun and avoiding eye contact. Was he retreating back into the skittish submissive Splice? She decided bringing it up now would hurt him if he was feeling vulnerable, so she turned back to Stinger.

“So, I’ve been thinking, and trying to figure out how to get things started. I’m not trained in what I should be doing right now but I figure we need to get to Ouros and get the skyjacker stuff settled, and get the royal guard appointments. While we are there maybe we can get someone as an accountant, or contact an employee of Seraphi so we can get access to the funds we need to do everything else. Depending on how that goes, we can look into getting a ship and some more help. But I need you and Caine to help me with my family to cover up the fact that I’m leaving.” Jupiter felt awkward asking for more help after he was so angry earlier, but Stinger didn’t say anything so she kept going. “I know I need to tell them eventually, but I don’t want to say anything until there is something in place to protect them, so I was thinking I could tell them that I was going to be here. I thought I could tell them Caine was going to be staying here a few weeks to help you fix up the house and asked me if I would come and clean the place up, you know, so I have a reason to be gone a while where they wouldn’t have time to come check on me,” she blurted out.

“Are you saying I can’t take care of my own house Majesty?” Stinger sounded insulted but as Jupiter stood with her palms out to apologize, he continued. “It’s fine by me Majesty, but while we are gone your family won’t have any sort of protection.”

“I know, but they don’t really have any protection now and the sooner we can get some more guards, the sooner we can get them protection for when we take these trips. We need to recruit guards for my family and whatever place I end up staying while I’m here, but I don’t know if we need to get seperate guards from Earth or hire a group to come and live here. We can’t use those robots here, and some splices would be too obvious to stay here full time. What do you suggest?”

Jupiter felt her adrenaline recede as she and Stinger kept talking about the security situation, talking over options, but Caine never took part in the conversation. Jupiter tilted her head towards Caine while looking at Stinger to indicate her concern but he just shrugged and kept talking. She wasn’t sure if that meant he didn’t know, or nothing was wrong, or it was too complicated to explain without making things worse. She decided to do something about it. “All right Stinger. We have a bit of plan to go on, but it’s late and we have to head back tomorrow so I can work and talk to my mother about leaving again.” She held out her hand to Caine and said “You ready?” 

But Caine still wouldn’t look up. “I would prefer to work on my gear more Your Majesty, especially if we are going to be heading out again soon.” 

Jupiter looked to Stinger, who held up his hands. “I should be headed to bed as well Your Majesty. I’ll just take a look around the perimeter and get some rest. Let me know if you need anything.” He walked out and left through the front door. Jupiter listened to it close and Stinger’s footsteps crunch away on the grass before turning to Caine, who was currently glaring at his weapon.

“Do you want to lecture me too Caine? I know you aren’t actually doing anything with that gun, you haven’t done anything but move it around in your hands since I came downstairs.”

Caine stood up and slid the gun into his side holster, still not meeting her eyes. “Your Majesty seems to have things well in hand. I can guard the hall while you get some rest.”

Jupiter frowned and shifted her face, trying to get him to meet her eyes, but didn’t get closer to him. If Caine was acting like this something was wrong, but she didn’t know if he was angry with her, or upset about something else. “Talk to me Caine. Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me for not doing this stuff earlier too? I’d make excuses but right now you’d probably just shrug or something.” She waited, but he seemed to be struggling with himself so she kept talking. She seemed to talk to Caine a lot more than she talked with Caine, at least at the beginning. Maybe it would work again. “You know, it seems like a waste to go to bed by myself on a night when my mother isn’t breathing down my neck. Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”

Caine stared at the wall and frowned. _You idiot Jupiter!_ Their relationship was moving at a glacial pace, at least physically, and right now was not a good time to say anything that implied she wanted him for sex. She definitely wanted him, but if he was freaking out about Entitled stuff or he was mad at her the last thing he needed was for her to say something that would push him where he wasn’t ready to go. She opened her mouth several times and made a whine at the back of her throat. She must have looked ridiculous but she felt too awkward to notice and Caine was still frowning at the wall. Before he could say something to distance himself from the situation, or something sexy she’d be tempted to take him up on when he was obviously freaked out, she started babbling.

“Um, yeah, so what I meant was that you could totally stay in the room. With me. To guard, I mean, without doing anything you didn’t want to do.” This was going downhill fast. “Unless you don’t want me around.” That was not helping. “Or you think it would be too distracting to have me in the room with you.” _No flirting Jupe!_ “So! I guess I’ll just go upstairs then. To bed… I mean, to sleep. And if you want to talk to me about whatever’s bothering you, then you can totally do that.” Caine just walked towards the stairs. “Or you could, not then,” she said to the empty room.


	2. Making a Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jupiter and Caine have a car ride and a conversation.

Jupiter was laying in bed, staring out the window at the sunrise. She hadn’t gotten more than an hour of sleep but she still wasn’t sure what she could say to Caine to fix whatever was wrong. If he wouldn’t talk to her, if he couldn’t open up about what he was thinking, how could they fix it? Was he back to thinking she was too good for him? The Queen thing again, that had to be what this was about. She had a hard time the first time trying to convince him it didn’t matter to her what her status was, or his. Today was bound to be slow and swirling with uncertainty if she couldn’t get them back on speaking terms before they made it back to Chicago. _Well, may as well get started. _

She needed coffee before she could concoct a plan with any chance of success, so she slipped out from under the covers, flung them back over the bed in an approximation of making it tidy, and slunk out of the room to head down to the kitchen and the salvation of clear thinking. Caine was less than a foot outside the door when she opened it, but when she looked at him he just moved to the side. Jupiter sighed and continued down to the kitchen where Kiza was already bustling about. A mug was plunked down on the table so she slid into a chair and took a deep breath to make sure it was actually coffee and not the overly honeyed tea the Apinis drank like water.

Caine finished making his way into the kitchen as she took her first sip and she sighed happily. _ Ambrosia._ Caine glanced over but looked away just as quickly, before Jupiter could get her hopes up that maybe he would speak to her without prompting. She drained the mug quickly and went to take a quick shower and get her stuff together to head back. By the time she made it back downstairs, Kiza was gone, and Stinger and Caine were back to standing across the living room and not speaking. She straightened her shoulders and marched into the room, no point in dragging things out. “Hey Stinger, you still okay with me telling my mom about coming here as a cover story?”

“They’re your family Your Majesty. You’d know better what will work and the faster you get your guard appointment the better,” Stinger said.

She slid her hands into her back pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Thought I told you to call me Jupe. Didn’t we talk about this last night?”

“You mentioned it Your Majesty. And I pointed out that you are my queen. Referring to you by your title is the respectful thing to do.”

Jupiter decided humor was the best way to go to dissolve the tension radiating off everyone. “Can’t you call me Jupe when we aren’t in public? I mean, I know it might give people the wrong idea when we’re on Ouros or in front of the Legion or something, but in your home you can’t call me Jupe? What kind of friend are you?”

“A bad one, Your Majesty.” He grinned as he walked out of the living room so she knew he was teasing, but did not realize until he walked outside that he was still calling her by title. Teasing back? Or determined to call her Your Majesty either way?

Jupiter turned and smiled at Caine, the rigid line of his jaw marking his discomfort. “Are you okay with the plan Caine? Or are you still too mad at me to talk about it?” Probably not the best plan, but she wasn’t going to tiptoe around things.

“Whatever Your Majesty thinks is best.” Her shoulders slumped but she decided throwing a tantrum would be the wrong choice. She was supposed to be acting like a queen, not a five year old ready for nap time. “Is Your Majesty ready to travel?” he asked. Okay, maybe a tantrum wasn’t completely off the table as an option.

She tossed her bag onto a chair and strode up to Caine, stopping two feet away and shifting around until she could look him in the eye. He tried to look right through her but Jupiter wasn’t having any of that. “Caine. Caine, I need you to tell me if something is wrong. You know I’m doing the queen thing to help people, not to pretend I’m better than everyone else, right? I still care about you as much today as I did yesterday or last week.” She wanted to slide her hands over his shoulders in comfort but didn’t want to push past his boundaries. She took a step closer, not touching him but very much in his personal bubble. He focused on her, tilting his head further as she moved towards him. 

“Your Majesty need not worry that I am concerned you stopped caring about me overnight. I am simply, “ he tilted his head closer to her own, “out of sorts thinking about the royal guard appointment and their arrival.” He tilted his head closer and smoothly backed away and went outside. And he had taken her bag off the chair when he slid closer. That little manipulative… if he thinks teasing her to get out of talking is the way to do things maybe she should be overly coquettish and give him a taste of his own medicine. Maybe then they could get somewhere with this conversation. Although, the last time she tried for obvious flirting culminated in her telling him she liked dogs which, explained that way, doesn’t include the fact that since she was attracted to a half dog she was unintentionally implying that she _liked_ dogs. 

Jupiter headed out of the house, making sure it was firmly closed behind her out of courtesy. It wouldn’t matter if assassins showed up, but it’s the little thoughtful things that hopefully wouldould continue to show she was not your average Entitled. _I didn’t want to be part of the secret, snobby rich kids club anyway, I don’t know why I have to deal with the drama when I don’t even understand it half the time. _ She jumped in the car as Caine put the bags in the trunk and crossed her arms as he got in to express her displeasure. It was much more difficult than one would think to have an argument when one side was used to being subservient and obedient without accidentally crossing a line. And Jupe was never graceful at avoiding obstacles.

While her phone was broken, and not wanting to dwell on talking to Aleksa for the next couple of hours, her only source of amusement was the angel wolf possibly boyfriend who had difficulty with expressing ‘feelings’, and the terror of letting down his guard near one of the Entitled, including her. So she decided since he seemed to only be affected by her charms some of the time she would need a different tactic.

“So Caine, how would you qualify our relationship?” Not subtle, but it is definitely a distraction for both of them. “Would you say we are dating? Should we have a conversation about whether you think I’m attractive and if you are interested in exploring a more romantic relationship? I mean, the teasing and the white hot lip action seem to be implying that is the case, but I thought maybe we could put all our cards out on the table. Maybe I’m expecting you to act like a boyfriend or partner, and you are acting like I’m your boss and you are humoring me. Maybe you hate it when I act this way and you are pretending to enjoy my company because you are afraid, despite all evidence to the contrary, that I would shoot you into the void of space or something. So, if that is the case, maybe we should get all the revelations out on the table at once before something else happens.”

Jupiter could tell Caine was clenching his jaw as he glared at the empty country road ahead of them. Was he trying to figure out a way to diffuse the situation, obfuscate the truth, or did she make him angry? Either way, maybe she could get somewhere. He opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again. “I do not believe it is your intention to harm me for expressing a negative reaction, although it is difficult to move past my instincts and try to express myself more naturally with you. Even with defective genomgeneering, I am still a lycantant, and you are my Alpha, which means my default is to go along with your ideas regardless, even if I have concerns. The expectation is that if my concern is for my own self interest, I should push those thoughts aside and focus on the good of the whole group, and trust my Alpha to lead that group effectively. The truth is, I was trying to make you happy by letting you focus on your family, and that put all of us in danger. It was unacceptable to focus on me making you happy instead of safe. And… the truth is I worry about the royal guard appointments so I was selfishly avoiding having you take steps to ascend properly because they will undoubtedly be a problem that I was trying to avoid.”

“Did you want to avoid them out of male pride that you could protect me yourself, or that they might think less of you because you were clipped and stripped? Are they going to be splices as well, or maybe you’re worried about them taking orders from other splices? I mean, I’m assuming Stinger would be more a direct commander with you being my bodyguard or whatever, but they still have to listen to you. Although I don’t know if that is what you actually want and I guess we need to figure out if we need official titles and things.” Jupiter looked out the window, “and you shouldn’t feel bad for trying to do what your queen needed at the time right? I mean, you are supposed to keep me safe but you are also supposed to do what I want, what I need to cope with everything. Stinger was right to talk to me and I don’t like that you kept things from me, but I was under the impression that you didn’t keep things from me maliciously, which is when it would actually be a problem.”

Jupiter mentally clamped her mouth shut to stop babbling and watched Caine take the exit closest to her current family dwelling and reflected that soon the whole family would be moving. It would be a bigger and better and more secure place for them, a place where they could be happy, but it would still be filled with sadness to leave the place she and the rest of her kin had survived on the edges of American society. But they deserved everything she could give them. Maybe she could even give them a space vacation in a year or two once she had things more under control. They can fly around in a cruiser and have great rooms and room service and maybe hop off at a planet that’s relatively safe to run around and explore things. She was jerked back to the present as Caine moved the car into the next lane of traffic and turned slightly to answer her questions.

“My concerns with the royal guard appointments are partially because,, as a defective splice, they will feel it is their duty to bring up the lack to me and to Stinger. When that proves ineffective at changing things, they will attempt to speak to you directly. None of them will attempt to do more than try to worm their way into your good graces and oust me from what they will see as a position of power. As a defective splice I should not be anywhere near you, and especially not close to you. Plus, a guard appointment is a permanent placement which is rare in the Legion, and making yourself more useful to your employer is a good way to stay there and not get sent back to go on missions again. They will see my presence as a security issue and my dishonorable discharge from before will only reinforce that belief, regardless of it being pardoned now.”

Caine hadn’t addressed all her concerns, but at least now she knew what he was freaking out about right now, and could be sure to take steps to reassure him that he was not going anywhere unless he wanted to leave. Just in time too, as they were about to park the car and head into the house. Caine had agreed to come in, in case there were questions, so they could get everything done quickly and get back. Jupiter wasn’t sure if she would need to clean houses today and leave again that night, or if the promise of decent money after this “soldier job” would be enough that they could scurry away quickly. Caine grabbed all the bags as Jupiter headed inside to speak with her mom during her lunch break between houses. She hadn’t so much ignored the texts from her mom as been unable to respond because she still needed a new phone and she didn’t want to tell her mother it was broken when she couldn’t tell her _why_ it was broken.


End file.
